Is Your Chicken Sandwich Homophobic?

Published February 05, 2009 @ 12:59PM PT

It is if it comes from Chick-Fil-A. Why? Well, as Stephen Davis, a student at Auburn University explains it, Chick-Fil-A is a supporter of Focus on the Family. Focus on the Family is the organization in Colorado run by Rev. James Dobson, which (among other anti-LGBT things) openly works to try and defeat equal rights measures around the country, and sponsors an ex-gay ministry program, Love Won Out.

Rev. James Dobson has said some pretty crazy things over the years when it comes to the issue of LGBT rights and homosexuality, so it's unclear why Chick-Fil-A would hold up such an organization. Among the comments Dobson (and Focus on the Family) has made:

"[Homosexuality] will destroy the Earth."

"[Same-sex marriage] will lead to marriage between daddies and little girls."

"The introduction of legalized gay marriages will lead inexorably to polygamy."

He has compared the recent steps toward gay marriage to Pearl Harbor and likens the battle against it to D-Day.

Chick-Fil-A supports an organization that equates gay marriage and homosexuality to the destruction of World War II. Wow, that's almost as bad as Domino's Pizza and its crazy founder.

Maybe it's time to find a less homophobic chicken sandwich to eat.

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Comments (27)

Chick-Fil-A has taken a wrong turn in supporting an intolerant organization and I hope that Chick-Fil-A drops support for Focus on the Family. I wonder why Chick-Fil-A, of which I've never eaten at, would do such a thing to discourage LGBT customers from doing business with them. In addition, the fact that the intolerant Rev. James Debson is the leader of Focus on the Family is even worser because of the comments he's said.
Finally, I hope other businesses, especially popular ones don't make a large mistake such as Chick-Fil-A has done.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 02/05/2009 @ 02:22PM PT
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Homophobia...has its price. There are two companies who donated to the Yes on H8 Campaign in California, complaining that boycotts against them are causing them revenue loss. AWWWW!

Posted by Lee Dorsey on 02/06/2009 @ 09:26AM PT
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Unfortunately I can't boycott Chick-Fil-A because the combination of gluten and hormone-laden chicken isn't an option. Here's hoping the boycott works anyway, because most of us in Colorado who have watched the actions of Rev. 'Froot-Loop' Dobson can recognize mental unbalance when we see it.

Posted by Edward Arnold on 02/06/2009 @ 09:43AM PT
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I've never eaten Chik-Fil-A, thank God. And I use that term advisedly...
James Dobson means well but is a very sick man. I'll never understand how a person so out-of-touch with his own phobias can presume to tell the world how to think. I've heard him talk about how his father used to drive him and criticize him and discipline him...it's amazing to me that he hasn't made the connection to his hatred of gays, i.e., men comfortable with their own sexual power.
I've also heard him say gays have an agenda to go into schools and "corrupt" little boys into their "lifestyle." Again - the old unconscious fury at his father is probably talking...wish he would find some healing.

Posted by Jennifer Martin on 02/06/2009 @ 10:41AM PT
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I don't know about all this subconscious choice stuff people are throwing around but to bash a Christian based company for backing another Christian based organization, is retarded. It is akin to all that crappy presidential campaign commercials we saw where one candidate was constantly bashing the other. If you have something to say, then say it. Don't fill in the void by just talking trash. Don't grasp at straws because you have nothing else to say that supports your cause. If the only way for you to get your agenda to rise above the rest is by pulling others down, then your agenda has no merit.

I am all for human rights, gay/lesbian or straight. I am a Christian but to me, who is guilty and who is not guilty is not my call to make. I do believe that all people should be treated equally regardless of where they are in life spiritually, financially, sexually, etc..

Focus on the Family has been a great source of personal growth for me over the years but it has never once swayed me from seeing people as people.

I will close with this state in case there is any confusion. Yes everyone deserves to be treated equally regardless of what affiliations they may have, but using this kind of tactic of bashing companies that support other companies, is childish and IMHO, undermines what is most important, equality.

Posted by Glenn Barres on 02/06/2009 @ 10:57AM PT
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May I gently point out that your desire to treat all people equally is not reflected in your choice of words. To call something that you think is stupid and ignorant "retarded" is like a knife in the gut to people with intellectual disabilities and those who love them. Retarded just means slowed, but it's come to represent the most rejected and undesirable trait you can think of to describe something you disagree with. For people with disabilities, it's like any ethnic or racial slur. Please extend your Christian love and think of another word.

Posted by Beth DeHoff on 02/06/2009 @ 11:06AM PT
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You are correct Ben and I apologize but let me point out that I was not using that word in regards to an individual, but to the action. And in that use it servs well since I feel that action only slows the progress. However I could be wrong and do not mind being corrected.

Posted by Glenn Barres on 02/06/2009 @ 11:26AM PT
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"Focus on the Family has been a great source of personal growth for me over the years but it has never once swayed me from seeing people as people.'

Glenn, you are the exception to the rule. Dobson has great sway over most of those who listen to him. As a matter of fact, Dobson had to lay off most of his employees because he spent so much of his foundations money getting prop 8 passed.

In addition, who is "attacking" a company that supports another? There was NO attack. If there is a company that supports another that wishes to REMOVE my civil rights, as prop 8 did, then yes, I want to know who they are because I refuse to support ANYONE who believes it is okay to discriminate against an entire group of people.

Back to FotF......not only did Dobson successfully destroy THOUSANDS of people's families and lives here in California with his HATRED and LIES about same-sex marriage, he also destroyed many of the lives of those who worked for him. In this economy, you really think that him spending millions of donor's dollars was best spent supporting a hateful proposition? He could have been feeding, clothing, or sheltering the poor, or simply PAYING his employees. Instead he found better use of that money by taking people's rights away.

Posted by Dave Hershey on 02/06/2009 @ 07:53PM PT
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Dobson, Perkins, Wildmon et al are dominionists. The want to convert us to a theocracy. These would-be mullahs wish to control what you read, what TV programs you watch, what movies you see and what music you listen to. They fight vigorously to indoctrinate and dumb-down our children with creationism.

These folks are sexual bigots. They expend considerable sums to convince people that I am a pervert and they frame homosexuality as pedophilia. Their reparative "therapy" ministers are extremely dangerous. Every day, they work to lower the self-esteem of gay kids. They work tirelessly to oppose any form, of anti-bullying laws to put those children at even greater risk.

What gets my ire up the most is that they employ turnspeak. (http://www.tips-q.com/content/turnspeak) in order to frame themselves as victims of religious intolerance.

Posted by David Hart on 02/07/2009 @ 11:20AM PT
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Glenn,

First -- You're upset that this page is "bashing" a Christian org for supporting another Christian org? This simply doesn't make sense... identifying organizations that are funding the opposition and choosing to protest or boycott is not in and of itself "bashing." The religious right, including Dobson himself, does this all the time and it's an organizing strategy. No namecalling or crude commentary was included in this article, simply a statement of facts.

Second, the "bashing" that you supposedly do not like, is actually purportrated by Dobson himself... He has equated LGBT people and their relationships to slavery and incest, destroying the earth, and that LGBT people are incapable of monogomous relationships, among many other things. These simply aren't truths and are more than not, what I would consider "bashing."

Posted by Chris Tuttle on 09/07/2009 @ 09:08AM PT
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> bash a Christian based company for backing another Christian based organization

Glenn,

I wish you wouldn't turn this into a Christians vs gays debate. There are plenty of Christian organizations that support gay rights. Chick-Fil-A could have supported one of those, then no one would be complaining. Instead, it chose to support Focus on the Family, which while doing beneficial things for people, unfortunately has also tireless thrown up roadblocks to long overdue pro-gay equality legislation, and whose leader has said absolutely inexcusable things. If you are a supporter of Focus on the Family, but also hold progressive values, I would urge to you somehow put pressure on that organization to lay off the gay bashing, so we can all get along. But until they do, we have every right (and actually, the responsiblity) to call them on the hurtful ideas they propogate.

Posted by Don Steffy on 02/06/2009 @ 11:19AM PT
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I agree with you. There are many Christians, even Evangelicals, who are tolerant.

The reason that this is always framed as Christians v. GLBT is because the Christian right persistently portrays their bigotry as protection of religious freedom. They engage in a war of semantics. If you think about it "protection of marriage" is meaningless baloney. Just like pro-choice isn't "pro-abortion."

Posted by David Hart on 02/07/2009 @ 11:34AM PT
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Thank you for letting people know about James Dobson's outrageous and homophobic statements.
Please consider veggie chicken options. Here's a page with ideas from Mercy For Animals (www.mercyforanimals.org), run by openly gay vegan activist Nathan Runkle, who was recently viciously attacked: http://www.chooseveg.com/vegan-substitutes.asp.

Chickens grown for the meat industry have been bred to overproduce so much flesh and grow at such a rapid rate that they often die of heart attacks when only a few weeks old; or they fall over because their legs cannot support their massively top-heavy bodies and die of dehydration. They're killed when only seven weeks old. Birds are not protected by the (so-called) Humane Slaughter Act; numerous eyewitness accounts and undercover investigations reveal extreme suffering and gratuitous violence in these places. The workers aren't treated much better.

Fight all exploitation: speak out against hate and bigotry, purchase mindfully, and go vegan.

Posted by Gary Loewenthal on 02/06/2009 @ 11:26AM PT
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There is such a thing as free range chickens. I even lived on a farm where we raised chickens and we never used anything unnatural in their breeding, feeding, or killing. I even had some as pets until we ate them and when we killed them, it was very quick and painless. Yes there are some places that abuse the animals but it is a very small majority of the farms out there.

If you are going to make statements, make sure you give both sides of the story. And just in case you are wondering my wife is vegan so I too am a supporter of veggie eating. I however do like fish and chicken.

Posted by Glenn Barres on 02/06/2009 @ 01:45PM PT
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I would also point out that Mr. Dobson is a proponent of child abuse! He encourages parents to spank their children.

Posted by David Hart on 02/06/2009 @ 12:17PM PT
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How is spanking a child, child abuse? Child abuse is when people go over bored with their discipline. Spare the rod, spoil the child is by no means child abuse. Not only is this statement of your completly off topic, it is also baseless.

Posted by Glenn Barres on 02/06/2009 @ 01:35PM PT
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"Spanking isn't the only discipline option, says Dr. James Dobson, founder of the Christian organization Focus on the Family, but it remains a valuable tool. He advises using a neutral object such as a paddle or a switch to administer spankings to children ..." Dobson goes on to frame corporal punishment is a RELIGIOUS OBLIGATION. He recommends spanking children in some situations from the age of 18 months. Now THAT is perverted!

Now if you think that beating the hell out of a kid (sometimes as yourg as 28 months) with a paddle isn't child abuse then you need some education.

My statement is not baseless (read the published and peer reviewed research) and it is certainly not off topic given that James Dobson is head of Focus on the Family.

Posted by David Hart on 02/07/2009 @ 11:45AM PT
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Oh, Chik-Fil-A. Why must you be so delicious and so evil?

I don't think this is exactly new news, though. It's long been known to those of us in the south east (where Chik-Fil-A is available) that they are a Christian-founded company (closed on Sundays, which are the days I most crave their delicious biscuits of artery clogging death) and that they donate to FoF at Christmas.

For those of us who eat fast food rarely (long-distance driving, for me, is the only good reason), a boycott isn't effective: it's not like losing my 6 visit/year business is going to financially impact the company at all. What is a better way to express our discontent with this financial support?

Posted by Ali ... on 02/06/2009 @ 10:58PM PT
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I'm vegan so I never brought it to begin with.

Posted by Catherine Mitchell on 02/07/2009 @ 07:58AM PT
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This is a restaurant, right? or do I have to remember to avoid it in the grocery store?

Posted by Alan Ditmore on 02/07/2009 @ 03:33PM PT
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It is a fast-food restaurant.

Posted by Dave Hershey on 02/07/2009 @ 03:38PM PT
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Interesting discussion. I didnt realize the Chic Fil A was a "Christian" based business. As for bashing it, well that's part of the wonderful democracy we have. A right to voice our opinion on anything. Sadly I don't eat at Chic... otherwise I would stop doing so. That would be my way of voting my distaste for what they support. I don't like what they do to chickens either. Since God, according to the Christian faith gave us dominion over the animals of the earth, Chic is doing a rather poor job of it....

Posted by Amy Conant on 02/07/2009 @ 05:22PM PT
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I hate it when I take the trouble to read this many comments by leftie loonies and I don't disagree enough to get a good rant going!

Posted by Charlie Reed on 02/07/2009 @ 05:32PM PT
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So it seems here that no one knows that Chick-Fil-A is a CHRISTIAN organization. They have had toys over the years consisting of audio tapes of The Odessey from Focus on the Family and they always close EVERY Sunday. So why is every one here so surprised? Boycott what you want, but they won't change a thing. Then again I guess boycotting is more about sending a message, whether change happens or not. Somehow though, I doubt that because they're partners that they would hate or be phobic of gays. Have they ever denied you a sandwhich because of your sexuality? Chick-Fil-A should be the least of yours or anyones concerns in my opinion...but then again...that's just my opinion :)

Posted by Randy Carroll on 02/07/2009 @ 09:41PM PT
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So I didn't read ALL the comments...it seems that many have realized that it's Christian. But for those who this is news, hope this sheds new light on it :)

Posted by Randy Carroll on 02/07/2009 @ 09:44PM PT
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I'm a Southerner and I like Chic-fila. Mr Truitt Cathey is a wonderful man and has done a lot of good. Maybe you all should write him and explain to him your concerns about his affiliation with the Mr Dobson and do it in a calm manner. What little I do know about Mr Cathey, is he is fair and reasonable and if you give him a good reason to quit his support of this group, I'm sure he would look into it. To attack a responsible company that is making a profit in these terrible economic times doesn't make sense.

Posted by Sara Rawlins on 02/08/2009 @ 05:50AM PT
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Hey everyone!! For those of you who feel strongly about this topic or know of anyone who would like to change Chick-fil-A's mind in supporting Focus on the Family, please join my group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=83785229001

Thanks and God Bless!! <3

Posted by Jay Flynn on 04/07/2009 @ 12:02PM PT
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